In the spirit of travel this week, since I just announced my next trip, I decided I needed to pay a visit to the underlying reason(s) I’ve been really focused on travelling.

A couple years ago, I was on Pinterest one night admiring all the travel related posts that were popping up. I started thinking about traveling, and how cool it would be to see the world, and experience different cultures and people. At the time, I hadn’t really been outside of the United States, unless you count a quick vacation to Canada once when I was a kid. Now, during this same Pinterest session that took me down way too many rabbit holes [you all know what I mean with this], I had also seen a quote that really stuck with me.

“Once a year, go some place you’ve never been before” ~Dalai Lama

That night, I made a promise to myself that I was going to start travelling. I wasn’t sure where I wanted to go, or where to start, but I was going to make it happen because I was at a point in my life where I was financially able to travel, I had (and still have) a flexible job, and I have plenty of vacation time to use.

Well, sitting here almost exactly 2 years since that infamous Pinterest session, I can say those two things have been the driving force of all my travels and adventures, and I wouldn’t trade these experiences for anything! I’ve seen so many different sights, swam with stingrays, and experienced so many different cultural events like bull fights and New Orleans’ Halloween parades! Below is a list of all the new places I’ve been! And, yes, I have included places I’ve flown from or through, as long as I spent at least a bit of time there because there are so many places to scratch off my dreaded map that I must scratch them off somehow…!

• Calgary, Canada
• Toronto, Canada
• London, United Kingdom
• Porto, Portugal
• Lisbon, Portugal
• Sintra, Portugal
• Lagos, Portugal
• Amsterdam, Netherlands
• Washington, D.C.
• Arlington, Virginia
• Baltimore, Maryland
• Charlotte, North Carolina
• Miami, Florida
• Curacao
• New Orleans, Louisiana
• Leave this spot for any places I may have missed…

Quinta da Regaleira – Sintra, Portugal

Also, if you read my post from earlier this week, you’ll know that I get to add a couple more to this list in a few months! At the end of May and early June, I’ll be adding Reykjavik, Iceland, and Bergen and Stavanger, Norway! I can’t wait!

Anyways, what’s the point of this reflection? This week in March has definitely turned into an emotional week for me (blog post about why, if you don’t already know, coming Saturday, March 9th, so stay tuned!), and I can’t help but reflect on how I got to be where I am today. As I look back over the past few years, I realize how good of a spot I’m in, how grateful I am for what I have, and eternally thankful for a second chance at life. Everything that lead up to me moving to Helena, and everything that has happened between then and now not only happened for a reason, but it really was the best thing that could have happened for me, personally. And because of that, I will travel on, trying to get to as many new places as possible!

City Park – New Orleans, Louisiana

P.S. Don’t ever pass on an opportunity to travel. I promise, you’ll never regret spending money on an experience!